school war eagles marching band showing up on martie barrett's front lawn so she can hear him play again? best thing in the world ever. nice playing, guys. now it's time for the ed show. the obama administration takes its case to the highest court. >> those around michael jackson at the time of his death revealed chilling details about the day he died. bird's eye view. the unique perspective of crews assessing earthquake damage at the national monument. good morning, i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. we begin this morning with a

high stakes appeal. the obama administration has asked the supreme court to review the president's health legislation to require almost every american to have health insurance. a constitutional ruling would likely arrive in the thick of the 2012 campaign if they review it. tracie potts joins us with more on that. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. now, this issue has moved up to the u.s. supreme court. both the justice department and 26 states are asking the court for a quick decision on whether the individual mandate in the new health law is constitutional. the mandate says that nearly every american must purchase health insurance by 2014 or face a fine. both sides are asking the court to make a decision by early 2012, months before the next presidential election. three different appeals courts have made three different rulings on this, one in atlanta

over the summer said it is unconstitutional, another said it is not. a third court said it is too soon to tell. bottom line, small businesses are teaming up with the states that want the entire law struck down and now it lies in the hands of the u.s. supreme court. lynn? a 26-year-old massachusetts man is behind bars this morning after federal agents uncovered a home grown terror plot to attack federal buildings with remote control planes. they searched the home of this man in which undercover investigators posing at al qaeda members delivered grenades and what they believed was 24 pounds of c-4 explosives. according to federal documents, the plan was to pack model planes, similar to the ones seen here with explosives and target

the pentagon and the u.s. capital in a jihad style attack. >> day three of the trial against dr. conrad murray, michael jackson's physician, gets underway in los angeles. murray stands charged with invowi involuntary manslaughter. yesterday, we learned more about jackson's final moments from his personal assistant and chief of security. nbc stephanie stanton has more. >> reporter: day two of this high-profile celebrity trial. jackson family members expressed gratitude to the supportive fans outside the courthouse. inside the courtroom, jackson's personal assistant, michael williams, testified about those critical minutes from dr. murray first realized jackson wasn't breathing and the frantic phone calls between the two. >> he said, get here right away. mr. jackson had a bad reaction. >> reporter: his chief of security described the scene in

his bedroom. >> he appeared to be administering cpr. he appeared very nervous. >> he also talked about the reaction of his children. >> he was on the ground balled up trying. >> they played a chilling audio tape of what sounded like an incoherent jackson. after court, murray's defense offered an explanation. >> we don't know what he was doing but when michael jackson didn't have a doctor near him, he self-medicated. >> reporter: a claim jackson family members have strongly denied. stephanie stanton, nbc news, los angeles. here is your first look at some of the other news going on around america. a horrific shooting on a crowded new york city street nearly took the life of one teen tuesday. the shooting stemmed from an earlier argument between the victim and his attacker. although shot multiple times, the victim is listed in critical but stable condition, no arrests have been made.

bank robbers in michigan barreled down the road attempting to avoid police in a rental strucks. the suspects weaved through traffic tossing money from the truck as police pursued. officers retrieved some of the cash before ending the chase and arresting two men. in the the nation's capital in what looked more like a scene from a hollywood action movie, a team of specialists rappelled down the washington monument wednesday to inspect the damage done to the 555 marble structure by last month's earthquake. national park service officials hope to announce a timetable for repairing and reopening the monument. finally, in maryland, two le to roam. the former house pets were collared in a park by animal control officers who figured the pigs were malnourished and in danger to hurt. they are living in a shelter

until someone comes forward to adopt them. >> dare i say they are adorable? >> return to msnbc meteorologist d dominica davis. let's start out with the national forecast. we are still dealing with the same weather system. it has been the same story pretty much all week long. above-norm temperatures, clouds, muggy weather and scattered showers. no exception to that today. the difference is we have the front through the middle part of the country. it is finally starting to move. the showers will diminish through the midwest. northeast, we are still in this for at least one more day as we have this stalled front draped from new england all the way down to d.c. you can see the showers are pretty much concentrated to the north. we can't rule out heavy

downpours basically along the i-95 corridor. we could see local flash flooding anywhere from an inch up to two inches with the local downpours. a look at thursday's forecast, still very warm. 65, minneapolis, temperatures are getting cooler through the midwest again as the front moves out. it is quiet on the west coast. still hot. phoenix, 104. not expecti not expecting any weather there. 97, san antonio, 89, nor lynns, plenty of sunshine for today. friday, this chill starts to move furt further to the the east. 67, chicago. eventually the temperatures will move off to the east coast. by this weekend, a big dip in the temperatures. a couple of days left of above-normal temperatures and then that fall feel starts to come back.

lynn, back to you. >> domenica, thanks so much. will stocks go into reverse? amazon stands tall and the fight over who is going to pay pore your 3-d movie glasses. you look at the the business straight ahead. you are watching "first look" on msnbc. yeah, i'm married. does it matter?

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welcome back to first look. i'm lynn berry. here are some of the top stories. more deaths may be linked to the deadly outbreak of listeria. 13 have died and three more deaths are being investigated. officials say the tainted fruit is out of stores but they suggest consumers that have cantelope at home throw it out to be safe. tyson is recalling about 130,000 pounds of ground beef due to e-coli contamination.

a new pew center report says hispanics make up the largest group of u.s. children living in poverty with over 6 million kids. it is the first time white children have been outnumbered by another race or ethnicity living in poverty. in brazil, a jaguar fleeing a wild fire was rescued from a tree, tranquilized and brought down safely. it will be taken to a sanctuary that rehabilitates wild animals. your first look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,010 after tumbling 179 points yesterday. the s&p fell 24 points. the nasdaq dropped 55. taking a look at overseas trading, the nikkei grew 85 points. in honk gong, the hang seng lost 119. tuesdays winners were wednesdays losers where until europe gets its house in order,

trade is expected to ebb and flow with developments across the atlantic. stiff drops in energy and metals which zoomed higher tuesday. gold fell and copper tumbled as did shares in freeport copper and gold. shares in coal producer, alpha natural, plummeted 11%. oil was off $3 a barrel sending energy stocks falling. the dow jumped higher after opening on a report august orders for manufactured goods fell less than expected. news and rumors from across the pond darkened the mood with international auditors slated to pass judgment on new loans for greece today. new disagreements broke out over greece's bailout. and germany's angel merkel fought off a revolt with the government on the issue. still, there were some bright spots. amazon rose after unveiling the new touchscreen tablet shall the

kindle fire. price tag, only $199. earnings, ja-bil circuit soared on earnings thabeet expectations. reebok will pay $25 million to settle charges it falsely advertised their easy tone shoes that strengthen leg, thigh, and buttocks muscles. as if there is not enough drama at the movies, now, feeder owners are up in arms over sony's decision to stop paying for 3-d glasses, a cost which will be passed on to moviegoers. the theater association wrote an angry letter calling the move insensitive during these tough economic times. last night on "the last word" with lawrence o'donnell, he asked oscar-winning filmmaker, michael moore, why he is lending his support to a group protesting in new york city called occupy wall street. >> this is not about supporting some piece of legislation or let's get behind some politician. this is going to be historically

in america, this has happened a number of times. it happened after world war i where the veterans were not paid their benefits. it happened during the great depression when workers rose up in my town of flint, michigan, where the modern day union movement began because people took over the gm factories. this is what happens when people have had it. this is just going to build and build. what i see here, i don't think your cameras can pick this up. you see a variety of americans here shall the mosaic of this country. you have young people here. you have senior citizens here. you have teachers here. you have nurses here. you have unemployed people here. you have young people who will be paying off student loans until their 40s. if they lived in any other western democracy, they wouldn't be in hock for half of their adult lives. >> you don't want to miss the lawrence o'donnell show "the

last word" on the biggest issues and most compelling stories of the day. it airs weeknights at 8:00 p.m. only on msnbc, the place for politics. coming up, spills, chills, and th and thrills on the very last day of baseball's season. includes a dramatic two-out home run for the rays and even more drama to come. you are watching "first look" on msnbc. with aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. the natural oatmeal formula goes beyond 24-hour moisture. it's clinically proven to improve your skin's health in one day, with significant improvement in 2 weeks. for healthy, beautiful skin that lasts. i found a moisturizer for life. [ female announcer ] aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. and for healthy, beautiful hair, try nourish plus haircare. only from aveeno.

>> welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. in sports, wow. maybe the only way to describe it, many people up late watching it. baseball playoff spots have been decided. this morning, many of you may still be out of bret. here is nbc's mario solis. >> good morning. it was the kind of night that will go down in baseball history. red sox and rays tied in the a.l. cards and braves tied in the national league. >> let's start in the american league, rays down 7-0 when they start a remarkable comeback manufacturing three runs to start the eighth. evan longoria gives them more. ninth inning, rays down to the final out. pinch-hitter, dan johnson rips a solo home run that barely clears the wall. tampa rallies to score seven runs and force extra innings. in baltimore, the red sox were on the way to a 3-2 inning.

in comes kyle hudson. the next batter, robert andino, with a shot to left. carl crawford can't make the catch. rival hustling to score the final run. red sox lose 4-3. >> literally, three minutes after the boston collapse, this happens, evan longoria with a walk-off home run to send the rays into the playoffs. tampa punching their ticket to the postseason. >> no drama between the cards and astros. pujols getting it done. st. louis scores five in the first inning. from there, all chris carpenter. a complete game shutout. cards win 8-0. >> can atlanta win? unfortunately, no. phillies forcing extra innings, in the ninth. hunter pence singles in the go-ahead run, phillies up 4-3. they hold on to beat the braves. cardinals can celebrate. they are on to the playoffs like

boston and atlanta. if this is how the post desseass going to play out, we are in for a wild ride? here is nbc meteorologist, domenica davis? >> good morning. it is going to be another soggy day, not a washout. chance for scattered showers. muggy weather sticks around the northeast. scattered showers moving through upstate new york pushing all the way through new england. this is a stuck front, a stalled front that is really going to stay in the forecast at least for the next 24 hours. so with that, temperatures have been on the mild side. no exception this morning. we are starting out in philadelphia this morning at 72. 71 for the current temperature in new york. 64 in hartford. a little bit cooler. 59 out through buffalo. eventually, this cooler air and fall air starts to move into the forecast over the next couple of days. not today. thursday's forecast does

show scattered showers up and down the i-95 corridor. again, no the a washout. we could see heavy downpours, especially through this afternoon. with he could see some places where you get the heavy downpour could be 1-2 inches per hour. flash flooding a concern for much of the northeast. back to you, lynn. >> thank you. which tv actresses make the most money and who just bought an $18 million long island mansion? plus, we will tell you who dared to trash the singing ability of lady gaga. your first look at entertainment is straight ahead. you are watching first look on msnbc. [ male announcer ] inside every box of cheerios are those great-tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. is it a superhero? kinda. ♪

welcome back to "first look." last night on late night with jimmy fallon, he had an update on one presidential candidate's bottom line. >> will. >> it is rumored that michele bachmann's campaign is close to running out of money. when asked for comment, bachmann was, you see, my campaign really does represent america. . that works. new york will no longer require drivers to take an eye exam to renew their license. that's not good, right? that's not good. this morning, my cab driver was like, you want me to take park avenue or lexington. also, is that a green light or a person? is that a person? that's right. new york is no longer requiring eye exams to renew a driver's license, which explains or new

state motto, welcome to new york. get on youtube. >> jimmy tonight, bridesmaids actress, melissa mccarthy, match makers, steven and joann ward and musical act, dierks bentley, "late night with jimmy fallon." weeknights at 12:00 on your local nbc station. >> entertainment news, according to forbes, there is no reason why any of tv's desperate housewives should be that desperate. eva longoria sits tied atop the magazine's list of top paid female actresses taking in $13 million for the 12 months ending in may. longoria at 36 was also the youngest on the list. tina fey tied for number one, $13 million. marsha cross tied for second with mariska har ga tay and mark

held again berger taking in $10 million. housewives teri hatcher and felicity huffman tied for third place. newly single "american idol" judge, jennifer lopez, has plunked down $18 million for a two-acre $7 billion estate in the hamptons. the tough judge of musical talent, simon cowell, has lived up to his reputation, telling england's mirror that lady gaga is the most boring singer in the world. for more measure, he quickly added, same with beyonce and katy perry. that's a brilliant move. new show coming out. drop a bombshell so people like us will talk about it. you can argue a lot of things about lady gaga but boring is a tough one. >> if it takes more than a meat dress to hit the exciting or bizarre but boring?

>> it is a snoozefest over there according to simon cowell. >> i'm lynn perry and this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned. "way too early" with willie geist starts right now. >> med dino to left field. in comes crawford. can't make the catch. he pops up. over the plate. off the mark. the red sox lose in a crucial 166nd ga1 1262nd game of the year. a home run, a home run, the rays are going to the playoffs. a walk-off home run by evan lon gone ya. the rays win, 8-7. in perhaps the single most exciting night in the history of baseball with three all